'Is she going to heaven mum?’: Toddler hit in horror e-bike crash

“I just screamed and began running towards her.”

Alyce and Nic with kids Kai, Marley and Ella. Inset - Ella after the crash. Images: Supplied.

Little Ella Mahon is lucky to be alive after she was hit by an electric bike at a park in Newcastle, NSW on Sunday morning. 

The 21-month-old, who was rushed straight to hospital with a head injury, is now back at daycare after the horrifying incident that prompted her mum Alyce to question the place of e-bikes near playgrounds. 

Want to join the family? Sign up to our Kidspot newsletter for more stories like this.

RELATED:  ‘Newborns should not be able to do this’

"She landed face forward"

Alyce tells Kidspot that as her husband Nic was with their two older children Kai and Marley ages six and four, she was watching their youngest. With the harbour on one side, Alyce says she was more concerned about Ella falling into the water than anything else that day.

In a split second moment however, Ella stepped into the path of an e-bike and after that everything happened very quickly.

“She was hit square in the back and landed face forward," Alyce recalls of the awful moment she witnessed the e-bike crash into her daughter. 

"I just screamed and ran towards her as Ella began to wail hysterically. When I picked her up, she didn’t have a graze on her body other than a huge lump on her forehead - she took all the impact to her head.”

Alyce remembers the cyclist, a man she estimates to be in his forties trying to see if Ella was okay.

“I remember this lady just yelling at him: ‘you were going like you're going way too fast, what were you thinking?’ This is a kids’ park!’.

“By this time the bump on her head was enormous and pulsating.”

Introducing our new podcast: Mum Club! Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so you never miss an episode.

RELATED: Mum forced to defend ‘wild child’ daughter after chaotic video goes viral

"I was so upset to see her this way"

In the chaotic scene that followed, Alyce said that Nic who remained calm, suggested taking Ella straight to the local private hospital closest to the city.

“It was a nightmare trying to get her into the car seat as she screamed in pain but we took the fact she was crying hysterically to be a good sign.

“I was so upset to see her this way which in turn was horrible for my older kids who were all in the car and utterly distraught. As we drove to the ED one asked, ‘Is she going to go to heaven, mum?’ It was heartbreaking.”

Once at the hospital, Ella was assessed with doctors deciding to keep her in for a few hours after she was given some pain relief. 

Alyce and Nic with kids Kai, Marley and Ella. Inset - Ella after the crash. Images: Supplied.

“When she eventually stopped screaming she fell asleep exhausted on my shoulder and when she woke up she seemed a lot brighter. We took her home and while she is now back to her bubbly self, she still needs me to hold her hand as she falls asleep at night.”

As Ella continues to physically recover from the scary accident, Alyce says she is still in shock. She also worries greatly about e-bikes and the impact they can have in a crash with a person.

“The medical team told us how lucky Ella was, and that if the bike had hit her in a slightly different spot, she could be dead. 

“I just feel so angry and scared because with e-bikes, not only are they much faster and heavier than a regular bike but they are silent - you can’t hear them coming.

"Yes, there are rules about speed limits, but many e-bike owners make adaptations that override this allowing them to do up to 50 km per hour.”

RELATED: I caught the daycare staff doing the unthinkable at lunch

"Who is going to be next?"

While Alyce has a few ideas around possible solutions; fences around kids' playgrounds to separate them from bike paths, e-bikes to only be allowed on roads, or better signage for cyclists as they approach highly pedestrianised areas; she believes big changes need to be made.

“I think about how lucky we are and I think yes, but who is going to be next? A frail elderly person, someone just out for a run or another child? They might not be so lucky and so whether it is the government, police or local council, the powers that be need to make changes as soon as possible."

A City of Newcastle spokesperson told Kidspot that under NSW Government regulations, e-bikes are legally allowed to provide electrical assistance up to 25 kilometres per hour and are generally treated exactly the same as other bicycles.

“However, several commercially available models can achieve speeds in excess of 50 kilometres per hour which cannot legally be used on public land in NSW,” the statement continued.

RELATED: I feed my toddler my friends’ breast milk to save cash

"A matter for NSW police"

“Personal e-scooters remain illegal on NSW roads, road-related areas, and public spaces, including footpaths, shared paths and bicycle lanes.

“Enforcement of regulations relating to moving vehicles (including bicycles) is a matter for NSW Police.”

Originally published as 'Is she going to heaven mum?’: Toddler hit in horror e-bike crash